A longtime resident of Idaho, Nichole Thiel attended the University of Idaho (U of I) in Moscow where she was active with Cohort 14 of the Leadership Institute and served as a Region 1 Project Leadership presenter for three consecutive years. She also traveled throughout northern India as a Fulbright-Hays scholar. In addition to her bachelor of science degrees in both elementary education and secondary career technology education (CTE) from U of I, Nichole Thiel holds a master of arts in educational administration with a CTE focus.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Thiel has served as an instructor at both the secondary and postsecondary levels. She also held educational administrative roles that included tenures as vice principal and athletic director. As an employee of her U of I alma mater, Nichole Thiel has assisted students as an independent study proctor and facilitated office operations as an assistant to dean Jack Dawson.